VPN

What is a VPN?

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is an encrypted tunnel between a remote device (an employee’s laptop at home, a mobile phone on the road) and the corporate network. A VPN allows a remote employee to securely access internal company resources (servers, ERP, intranet) as though they were physically in the office.

A VPN has two primary purposes:

1. Secure remote access — for employees working from home, while travelling, or on public Wi-Fi.
2. Encrypting communications on public networks — protecting against eavesdropping on public Wi-Fi (airports, cafés, hotels).

When it is used

In a business context, a VPN serves three main scenarios:

1. Remote work

An employee working from home connects to the corporate network via VPN. Reasons:

• Access to on-premise servers and applications
• IP whitelisting in cloud services (corporate IP)
• Compliance with contractual or regulatory requirements regarding access location

2. Site-to-site

Connecting two company offices via VPN — they appear as a single network even though they are geographically separate. For smaller businesses in 2026, this is increasingly being replaced by SD-WAN solutions.

3. Secure public Wi-Fi

When working from public Wi-Fi (airport, café, hotel), a VPN encrypts communications. It mitigates “evil twin” attacks and eavesdropping.

Weaknesses of classic VPN

In 2026, classic VPN (IPsec, OpenVPN, WireGuard) is considered an outdated architecture:

• If an account is compromised, the attacker gains access to the entire internal network, not just the needed application
• Weak access granularity
• Slow at high bandwidth
• Requires a VPN client on the device

ZTNA — the modern alternative

Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) is the newer approach:

• Every access request verified separately (identity + device + context)
• Applications accessible individually, not through an “entire network”
• Default-deny, explicit allow
• Simpler UX (browser-based, no VPN client required)

Vendors: Cloudflare Access, Tailscale, Twingate, Microsoft Entra Internet Access.

Related terms

• IP address — a VPN changes the apparent source IP address of the device
• SSL — modern VPN implementations often use the TLS protocol (SSL VPN)

In Modulario

Modulario is a SaaS application accessible over the public internet with TLS 1.3 encryption — it does not require a VPN for standard access. For additional security, however, it supports IP whitelisting, ensuring access is only possible from the company’s IP address (via VPN or direct corporate internet).

For regulated sectors or high-security environments, Modulario also supports a dedicated tenant in a private EU data centre with VPN-only access.

For broader context on network security, see the pillar Cybersecurity for Business Data and the cluster article Internet Security for Businesses.